I am afraid of words

Have you ever said anything that has been misconstrued or taken out of context?

I was sitting on the fence watching an approaching wind storm, when I blew off… Anything wrong with that statement?

The power of words.

Lawyers argue over the placement of a comma and in some instances, a comma may change the meaning of the whole sentence.

I think you’re pretty, ugly is not a word that describes you.

I think you’re pretty ugly, is not a word that describes you.

We can argue full stops and commas all day, but you get the picture.

I am reminded of a story my hard drinking dad told me, on one of his rare occasions of being sober.

In a small, gold mining town, out in the extreme heat of the heartland of Western Australia, a hard-nosed shop owner placed a sign in his shop window.

‘Money for the blind’.

The townsfolk were well versed in the stingy and uncharitable nature of the shop owner and were surprised at the sudden change of heart. As time went by, more and more people noticed his sign and the tin beneath it.

Finally the tin was full and the shop owner collected the contents.

In due course, a brand new, state of the art, sun stopping blind was fitted to the window of the shop.

The words had been interpreted differently than was intended. Or maybe they deceived as intended.

True story.

Sometimes we take the words of the Bible and try to make them say things Papa didn’t intend. The evil dude makes sure there will always be misunderstandings and strife among Papa’s kids and sometimes over silly things.

Translation is a hot bed for misunderstanding. The words I understand, but the meaning?

My new book, Paradise Warrior, due in March. Warning, it’s not for the faint hearted.

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Jack Dey, born to adventure, lives in the tropical rainforest of North Queensland, Australia. He has three loves in his life: Jesus; the Editor (his wife of 30 something years); and writing adventure novels. He is the author of MAHiNA; Paradise Warrior; Aunt Tabbie's Wings; The Secrets of Black Dean Lighthouse; The Legend of Ataneq Nanuq, The Valley of Flowers; La Belle Suisse (co-authored with Dodie La Mirounette) and Zero. As this book goes to publishing his new novel, Naive, is being written and is soon to be released. Jack writes only to please Papa God and considers his writing a ministry, demanding nothing from the reader for his e-books. If you like Jack Dey’s books and would like to support his ministry, please consider praying for the team at Jack Dey and telling your friends about his other titles. New books are constantly being written with the intention of being a pencil in Jesus’ hand and bringing joy and encouragement to you, the reader.